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Oil Trading Daily: WTI Crude Closes Higher as Natural Gas Plunges
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Oil Trading Daily: WTI Crude Closes Higher as Natural Gas Plunges

The benchmark crude WTI closed 1.14% higher to settle at $73.67. The weekly chart indicates prices are slowly beginning to find support above the $70 mark. An aggressive U.S. Fed and the rising possibility of a global recession continue to dampen demand sentiment at present.

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In addition, the latest numbers from the American Petroleum Institute indicate U.S. oil reserves increased by 3.3 million barrels during the last week of 2022.

However, this possible price support may be the result of markets anticipating a production cut. Indeed, Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) CEO Scott Sheffield stated that he wouldn’t be surprised to see OPEC+ cut oil production once again. He thinks prices will increase to at least $90 per barrel.

Furthermore, Exxon (NYSE:XOM) is expected to report fourth-quarter numbers at the end of this month. While lower oil, as well as natural gas prices, are expected to impact its performance, the Street’s estimate of a $3.30 EPS still points to a 61% year-over-year improvement in the energy behemoth’s bottom line.

Exxon shares have gained over 62% over the past year. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) has lost 0.2% over the past five sessions.

Meanwhile, natural gas tumbled 10.8% to close at $3.72 as warmer weather eased fears of an energy crisis for the markets.

Here are related tickers for this article:

  • United States Oil Fund LP (USO)
  • ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO)
  • United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG)
  • Cheniere Energy (LNG)
  • ConocoPhillips (COP)
  • Chevron (CVX)
  • Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

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